All for Elanor
by RosylaGypsy
Summary: When Sam's daughter, Elanor falls ill, he must rejoin the Fellowship in order to save her. The only thing that can heal her is a rare plant that is found on the dreaded Isle of the Krovic.
1. Default Chapter

_**Chapter 1**_

The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows over the cobbled path on which Samwise Gamgee was riding his pony, Bill , on his way home from the Hobbiton market. Samwise, or Sam as he preffered to be called, was one of the only hobbits in the Shire that actually rode on anything bigger than a donkey. But then, Sam was one of the only hobbits to actually ever leave the Shire at all. 

As Sam pulled Bill into the path that led to his hobbit house, he remembered how, seven years ago, he had come home from a much longer trip with three other hobbits. Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peragrin Took, or Merry and Pippin, were still living in the Shire but Frodo Baggins had gone sailing for distant lands with his Uncle Bilbo and the powerful wizard, Gandalf. Together, these five friends, along with many others, had set out to destroy The One Ring, evil token of the dark lord Sauron. Frodo and Sam had thrown the ring into the fire of Mount Doom in Mordor, destroying it. Sauron was no more. 

Now Sam was married and had children, but he never forgot the adventure that he had taken part in. Looking back, it only seemed like yesterday.

Sam sighed as he came up to his house and went round the back to untack Bill before going inside. It was just starting to get dark, so his wife, Rosie had already lit the fire. Sam's heart went out to the figure sitting with a pile of blankets in a chair right next to the fire. His small daughter, Elanor had turned around at the sound of the opening door and now gave her father a feeble smile as he walked into the room. 

"Hello, Daddy," she almost whispered. Sam sighed inwardly. Before last summer, Elanor would have come running to great her father at the door, rather than sitting here trying to keep warm. Before last summer she had laughed and played along with all the other hobbit children instead of staying here all by herself. Before last summer, the fever hadn't struck. 

Sam was pulled very suddenly from these deppresing thoughts as something not unlike a battering ram cannoned into him, nearly knocking him over. "Hiya Dad! Youve been gone for ages. Did you bring me anything, huh, huh?" Sam recovered and calmed his son, Frodo down by telling him that he had bought both his children a little something and they could have it if they sat down quietly. This was a feat much easier for Elanor than it was for Frodo, because unlike his sister, Frodo was about as quiet and willing to sit down as a hyper-active cave troll.

Sam pulled two small presents out out of his pockets: a miniture carved wooden horse for Frodo and a little wooden jewelry box for Elanor. Whole both hobbits were enjoying their presents, Rosie Gamgee called Sam in for dinner. Her face was serious. Once out of earshot of their children. Rosie explained. "Elanor had another coughing fit today. She almost couldn't breathe! I think she's getting worse, Sam." Sam agreed. But there was more frightening news. "You know Bob Bracegirdle? Well his son died of the fever not two days past! And he wasn't as bad as what Elanor is now. Oh why, why isn't there a cure?" 

Rosie was now close to tears, and Sam wasn't feeling much better. If people had started to die of the fever already, had Elanor any hope at all? But he did his best to calm his wife down. "There is a cure, dear, we just have yet to find it." but even as he said it, doubt clouded his mind. 

Later on in bed, Sam looked at Rosie sadly. Even she was starting to look pale. What if she got the fever as well and they both died? The hobbit tried to console himself by saying that someone might still find a cure, but it was hopeless. If there was one in the Shire, the doctors would have found it by now. 

As Sam blew out the bedside lamp, he thought, "But what about outside the Shire? Surely others living in distant lands would have knowledges for such sickness."The only thing was, no one seemed to want to risk leaving the safety of the Shire. It looked like it was up to him. But he'd need help. Sam thought. Who else was daring enough to go with him?


	2. Chapter 2

****

**Disclaimer: I do not own the right to the original text of Lord or the Rings. That belongs to Tolkein.**

**A/N: Thanx to all who reviewed, though I could do with a lot more!!! Keep 'em comin in!**

_**Chapter 2**_

Sam woke up with a plan fully formed in his mind. At around about midday, he left a shivering Elanor and a hyper-active Frodo in Rosie's hands to pay a visit to the Brandybuck household.

Walking through the Hobbiton and up the path that leads to Buckland, Sam noted how little folk were about lately. The fever had been here for a month or two, and it already had half the population of the Shire indoors caring for their families, or lying abed sweating with pain themselves. Things just couln't go on like this. Something had to be done.

As Merry's household came into view, Sam breathed a sigh of relief. His old friend's windows were wide open and the colourful flower-filled garden garden had not been neglected. All signs that Merry had not got the fever - yet.

Sam was welcomed jovially into the house by the Meriadoc Brandybuck who showed him straight to the living room. "Hello Sam, I was wondering when you'd show up. Pippin's here too." Sam felt a slight sense of forboding at this news, but quickly pushed it away. He couldn't very well exclude Pippin, even though the young Took was known to most by his rash mind and rather loud mouth, and Sam didn't want people to know of there intentions just yet. Still, Peregrin Took had proved himself a worthy and loyal friend in tough circumstances and therefore had a right to be included.

As Sam settled down, the young hobbit in question perked up at the sight of him. Sam noted that Pippin was looking a bit pale and was wearing quite a lot of clothing."Oh, Sam how are you?" He said this cheerfully enough though there was a very slight slur to his voice.

"I'm fine, thanks, but you aren't looking all that good yourself." There was concern showing in the older hobbit's eyes as he surveyed Pippin. Pippin laughed.

''Concerned for my well being, Sam? I'm touched.''

Sam scowled. "Of course I'm concerned you foolish Took! The fever has started to take death victims and by my reckoning you should be in bed. Not that you've ever taken my advice before. Or else you might end up like, like Elanor."

Pippin's face turned serious."As a matter of fact, I think that what I have, and what Elanor has, may be two very different things.'' When Sam looked dumbfounded, Pippin sighed. "I got the fever at the same time as Elanor, right " Sam nodded. "Well since then, she has gotten much worse but my condition hasn't gotten any worse at all."

He seemed to have nothing else to say and helped himself to a plate of cakes that Merry had previously put on the table. But Sam wasn't done. "That doesn't say anything at all. It just means that you are luckier!"

It was then that Merry, who hadn't said anything yet, spoke up. "I'm not sure Sam. My cousin Magee got the fever as well and got to Pippin's state and then she recovered. She didn't pick it up again. It has also happened to heaps of other people I know.

Sam thought this over. "Well maybe. But the fact is, heaps of people who have what Elanor has are going to die if something isn't done." Both hobbits stared at him. "Well what do you propose we do? There are no cures anywhere in the Shire..."

"Exactly! In the Shire. What about outside the Shire? What about all the places that we saw? Lothlorien, Rivendell, even Gondor? Wouldn't they have advanced medicine's for such illnesses?" Sam's comrades were now looking at him with their mouths wide open. He had never spoken much of their journey before.

"So your saying that - we should go back to all those places, all around middle earth to look for a something that can cure the fever?" Merry looked slightly sceptical. Pippin was starting to get that reckless gleam in his eye which always happened when he was about to do something extremely daring and foolish. Sam was feeling rather sheepish. Normally a reserved hobbit, he didn't often make sudden outbursts like what he had just displayed.

"Well maybe not everywhere we went. Just somewhere that might have something, anything that would help." For a minute no one said anything. Then "Well I think it's a great idea!" Pippin exclaimed suddenly. The other two looked at him. "I mean, someone has to do something and what have we got to lose?"

"I agree," Merry said. He was also starting to look a bit excited now. "I feel so useless just sitting here doing nothing when everybody's dying."

Sam felt very happy. They were going to find a cure. They were going to save Elanor! "Are you two sure about this? It's going to be very dangerous. In fact, Pippin, shouldn't you stay home? I mean, your quite sick yourself and..."

"Well if I'm sick, then I'm not likely to get any better staying around here with all these even sicker hobbits, am I?" Pippin snapped. I'd be far more useful with you and I'm not so sick that I'd slow you down." The other two couldn't talk him into staying so they just dropped it.

The three of them decided to leave the day after next as they could't afford to waste any time as Sam said. Also the two younger hobbits were known for there love of adventure and they hadn't been out of the Shire for years.

As Sam left Merry's household after saying goodbye to Merry and Pippin, he felt happier than he had done in weeks. There was a ray of sunlight on the dark horizon. Finally, things were starting to get better!


	3. 3 Setting out

A/N. Hi guys! sorry it's taken so long to update, but I've been busy.I will try to be more frequent. Anyway, here's chappie 3, so Enjoy!

_**3. Setting out**_

The sun was just appearing over the eastern horizon when Sam set out two days later. He was planning to meet Merry and Pippin at Brandywine river befor all three of them started south.

It had been heart wrenching to see Rosie's face when he told her that he was going away for a while. He had had to spend all night explaining to her that it was the only way to save Elanor, and she was still in tears of anxiety when he had left. Frodo had bombarded him with a stream of unanswerable questions, the most frequent being, "Can I come too?" But the reaction that really plunged Sam to the heart had been Elanor's. The young hobbit had closed her eyes, not saying anything for a moment. When she had opened them they were full of tears. She had then said faintly but very clearly, "I know you'll come back for me, won't you daddy?" Sam had pulled her into a hug, his eyes now also full tears. "Of course I will," he had whispered.

Sam now brushed a hand impatiently over his moist eyes. If he was going to save Elanor, he was going to have to be strong. So he held his head high, shouldered the bulging pack higher and walked steadily onwards.

He met Merry and Pippin at the aranged spot and they began the journey south. They walked for a while in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Merry was almost tingling with excitement. Although he loved the Shire, he couldn't help but be happy about the prospect of traveling and adventure. Pippin was thinking along the same lines, the only difference being more intense hunger pains. Sam's thoughts were all back home in his little hobbit hole with Rosie, Frodo and Elanor. He wondered how they were faring.

Glancing over at his comrades, Sam couldn't help but notice that Pippin was looking much better. He wasn't pale anymore and was wearing lighter clothing. He must be recovering after all. This relieved Sam greatly, as they had quite enough troubles without another sick hobbit.

At around midday the three companions stopped at a little river to have lunch. Pippin started up a stream of conversation.

"It's ages since we've been out of the Shire, isn't it? I wonder how all our friends are going, you know, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Ganda....." he stopped suddenly and looked down.For a minute an awkward silence hung between them. Pippin had momentarily forgotten that Gandalf didn't live in Middle Earth anymore.

Merry broke the silence. ''Er, I actually got a letter from Gimli a couple of weeks ago. I ment to tell you, but then Elanor got sick and I knew that you were really too busy to come and read it as it is quite long......"

''Í would have made time,'' Sam said, somewhat annoyed that he hadn't been told. ''Anyway, how was delivered? Surely no one would have rode all the way to the Shire just to do that?''

''Messenger birds.'' This time it was Pippin who answered. ''According to the letter, messenger birds are the latest form of communication with a lot of royal families like Rohan and Gondor. Merry's family has been using them for a while now"

Sam wasn't very happy at this. "You've known about this letter too? Why has everything been kept from me lately?" He grumbled. "Anyway, what else did Gimli say?"

"Well nothing interesting. A few meetings, Legolas got into a spot of trouble with some wargs, Gondor's in the middle of a war........." Pippin was cut off from his report and earned himself an exasperated look from Merry as Sam suddenly gave an angry yelp.

"WHAT?! Gondor's in the middle of a war! Just when we're going there right now! Why didn't you tell me?" Both hobbits were looking a bit scared at the moment. Merry quickly tried to correct Pippin's outburst. '' Look, it's not exactly a war. Gondor is just having a bit of trouble with orcs at the moment.''

Sam frowned.''Orcs? But I thought all Sauron and Saruman's orcs were wiped out. Where would there be enough to start a war and who would be commanding them?'' Merry sighed and lifted his large hobbit feet out of the river where he had been cooling them. I don't know Sam, but I told you, it's not war and it's obviously not enough trouble to stop Gimli writing a five page letter.''

Sam couldn't be bothered arguing anymore. He began packing away his cooking things wich he always took with him. ''Fine, but I hope you're right. I don't particularly want to be killed when.....''

''Merry, look!'' Pippin pointed upwards. Both hobbits looked up into the clear blue sky. ''What - oh, it's Brandy!'' Merry held out his arm to a large black raven with a piece of paper in its beak. Pippin was sniggering at the messenger birds name.''Brandy? Hmmmmmmm. Maybe if I get a messenger bird, I'll call it Took or Tooky, or maybe even......''

''Oh, shut up. Make yourself useful and help Sam pack. He was still flushed as he procceded to take the letter and read it. Sam watcked as Merry's eyes skimmed the paper, The young Brandybuck's face turned dead white. Leaving Pippin to put the last things away, he hurried over to where Merry stood, looking at the letter as if it had his death sentence written on it.

Muahahaha!!!!!!!! Now the fun begins. But I'm still not getting enough reviews. So if you want to find out what's wrong with Merry, just move the mouse over to the little button on the bottom left hand corner and click. (Gives a big winning smile)Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase????????


	4. 4 Attack

**Yaaayyy!!! Holidays! Christmas, sleep-ins and best of all, internet back on! Yep, our prepaid internet bill ran out a while ago and mum said we could put it back on in the first week of the holidays. Which meant I could only do my story in the school lunch hour, which really isn't much time so that's why it's been a while since I last updated. This chapter's pretty angsty, but it's my longest yet. Enjoy!**

4. Attack

"Merry, what's wrong? What does it say?"Sam tried to get a look at the letter his friend was holding with such dread. Merry answered quietly without looking up. "Do you remember my cousin Magee, whom I told you had the fever?"Sam nodded. Well, she died yesterday. Her parents came home from the market to find her coughing and retching. They'd left her at home by herself." He suddenly balled his fists in anger. "I always thought they were careless."

Both hobbits stood in silence for a moment. Sam felt terrible. Merry should be home with his grieving family, not out here looking for something that might not even exist. But he tried to console. "Merry, I'm so sorry. Do, do you want to go back? Because I can understand if you do and me'n'Pippin can always carry on alone."

It had taken a lot for Sam to say that, because if Merry left, chances were, Pippin would go back too, and Sam didn't really want to go on all by himself. But to his surprise, Merry looked up sharply."Go back?" he said incredulously. "Sam, this is why we're going, so that this sort of thing doesn't happen. Nothing can help Magee now, all we can do now is find this thing so no one else dies."

He seemed so determined that Sam was rather taken aback but pleased. "I'm glad. I didn't think I'd be able to carry on alone anyway." Merry laughed. "I _know _you wouldn't have been able to." The two hobbits smiled at each other.

"Hey, are you two finished bonding so we can get a move on now?" Pippin's voice called from the stream. Merry was outraged at this. "Bonding? I'll show you bonding you little pipsqueak. Ha, get it? _Pip_squeak!" And with that he ran after the wickedly grinning Pippin.

Sam shook his head at the frivolous pair acting like they weren't even in their tweens yet but he also smiled. It reminded him of the old days when Frodo was there.

Sam and Merry's fire crackled merrily in the warm night air. The two hobbits were sitting on a hill under a huge elm tree waiting for Pippin who had been bestowed with the chore to bring a bucketfull of water from the stream below. The younger hobbit seemed to have completely recovered from the fever and had even complained about being too hot before, which was a load off Sam's mind. Both were contended to sit in silence until a thought crossed Sam's mind.

"There's just one thing I don't get," he said. I thought Magee was over the fever. How could she have picked it up again so suddenly and then just die from it?"

Merry's brow furrowed as he took a huge pipe out of his mouth that he had been smoking on. "Yes I was just thinking about that. It's just so strange, she seemed completely recovered."

"Maybe she caught it again off someone else" Sam suggested. Merry thought about it. "No, I don't think so. I mean none of her close family had it at all and the only other time she saw anyone was when I visited with Pippin."

"Do you think she could have caught it off Pippin?" Sam suggested.

"I doubt it. Pippin didn't have it bad enough to be contagious."

The two of them fell back into silence, each lost in thought. "Can you think of any other way Magee could have got it?" Sam pressed.

Merry sighed. "No, I can't. I mean, let's see. She had it for a couple of weeks and got about as bad as Pippin. Then she started getting better until it went away completely, like what's happening to Pippin now. In fact, she seemed to be in exactly the same predicament as Pippin altogether. And then....."

"And then she died, " Sam finished in a hushed voice. Merry looked at him. The older hobbit had gone pale and was staring at Merry as though he were a ghost.

"Sam, what........" Then his eyes, too, widened in horror as he realised what Sam had said.

Both hobbits turned their heads in unison to stare at Pippin who was stuggling at the base of the hill with the water. They had just realised what this could mean for their young friend and both started talking at once.

"We'll have to go back-"

"Maybe it was just a coincidence-"

"He could die too-"

"He won't die!"Sam nearly shouted, stemming his companion's near hysterical comments. In a calmer voice he continued. "Look, I know Magee's death was unexpected, but think about it. Do you really think that sort of thing will happen again? I mean, he'd give some sign that he was sick before he dies wouldn't he? Besides we're too far from home and the best thing we can do now is to keep going. If he starts looking bad then we an stop at a town."

Merry looked like he was going to say more, but at that moment Pippin finally arrived with the water. "Phew!!! I am not doing that again. Next time you two layabouts can get your own filthy water." He stopped when he saw the expression on his companion's faces. "What?"

Merry and Sam looked at each other. "Nothing." Sam mumbled.

As the journey continued, Merry started to relax a little. Pippin hasn't showing any signs of sickness yet and maintained his cheerful, mischevious nature. It wasn't until a week later, when they were well away from any town or village, that anything happened.

The three companions had been walking all day and were very tired when they sat down to dinner. Sam and Merry didn't talk much but Pippin kept up a constant flow of chatter about this, that and the next thing and he seemed fine, although Merry noticed he was rather flushed and kept fanning himself in the not so warm evening. They settled down to sleep.

Merry woke very suddenly at aroung midnight for no apparant reason and for a moment just lay there wondering why. After a moment he realised that it was because Pippin, who was sleeping right next to him, wasn't breathing evenly. Merry sat bolt upright and looked at his friend. The young Took was sweating heavily and seemed to be struggling with each haggard breath. "Sam, wake up!" Merry yelled, trying not to panic.

Sam hurried over to where they were and tried out every emergency first aid thing in in his pack, growing increasingly frantic.

"What do we do?"

"We'll have to carry him, where's the nearest town?" Sam yelled as he tried to sponge Pippin down.

"We're nowhere near any, we'll never get there in time!"

"Well we can't just stay here, he's getting worse!" Sam slung the delirious hobbit rather unceramoniously over his shoulder and turned north, in the direction of Bree. But as soon as he had taken just a few steps, a low growl could be heard from the bushes up ahead. A huge grey wolf stepped out into the clearing where the hobbits had set up camp. The companions stood there petrified as it was followed by about ten more.

Finally Merry came to his senses. "Run!" They stumbled through the bush in a panic, all too aware of the snapping and snarling pack of wolves on their heels. Pippin didn't weigh much so wasn't very heavy as Sam half carried, half dragged him through the forest, but the wolves were gaining on them.

As they came to another clearing, somehow half of the wolves had gotten ahead and circled them, coming up in front of the hobbits. Surrounded with nowhere to go, Merry and Sam were sure this was the end. Suddenly a bright white light filled the clearing and for a moment, Merry thought he was dead. Then the wolves began to back off and he thought it was a miracle. He sighed with relief. But Sam wasn't so trusting. The light looked very suspicious and for some reason, Sam had a mad instinct to run from it too. But he couldn't. They were trapped in a clearing with a sick hobbit and some unknown thing that could be friend or foe. They were helpless.

**I'm glad I've finally got that chapter done, It's taken forever! How about rewarding my hardworking efforts with a lovely long review? They encourage me to post much faster.**


	5. New faces

**Hi everyone! A squillion apologies for the late update. I won't _always _be this unorganised, I promise. Anyway, this chapter's quite interesting, as it introduces a few new characters, so enjoy! By the way, my favourite thing in the world (aside from LotR, chocolate, Orlando Bloom, etc.) is reviews. So a sqillion thankyous to all who did. You are my heroes. To the rest of you, a sqillion pleas. If you do I'll hand out half my Easter eggs. Only three weeks away!**

The light in the clearing started to dim, until it formed a tall, indistinct shape roughly the size of a man. Sam's wariness deepened and he moved around so that he was standing in front of Merry and Pippin. Merry had stumbled upon entering the clearing and seemed to have hurt his ankle. He was in a crumpled heap on the ground, one hand clutching his ankle, the other on Pippin, willing the young Took to stay alive.

The glowing spectre seemed to survey the three of them for a moment, then did something Sam was not quite expecting. It spoke. " I see you fear me, little hobbit. You are wise. Many fear me, and some respect me and some don't know whether they fear or respect me. Some are even known to fear and respect me. There is often a little fear in every respect and a little respect in every fear."

Sam tried following these few sentences and got nowhere, so instead asked, "Who are you?"

"Me?" the figure asked. "I am many things. Some call me the Powerful one, others call me the Thunderstorm, and to some I am known as the Nomad. To most, though, I am known as Origald the Powerful. I came to Middle Earth with four of my own kind thousands of years ago.

"You are an Istari!" Merry piqued up suddenly. One of the wizards who came here with Gandalf." His voice took on and unpleasant tone as he spoke the next name. "And Saruman."

Origald smiled. "Yes, I did know Gandalf well. We were good friends. And you still don't trust me. What can I do to overcome that?"

"Can you help our friend?" Merry asked. He saw Sam stiffen, but stared his companion down. They would have to take this risk, if Pippin was to survive. Origald gave another sly smile, then threw up his head and gave a very loud, very realistic wolf howl. It was returned by another, and Merry looked around, startled, afraid that the wolf pack might have returned.

"No I can not. But I'm sure my friend here will be able to help you out." Origald spread his arms out wide. There was another flash of light, and suddenly, a beautiful elf maiden appeared standing next to him. For a moment she just stood there, looking puzzled and rather annoyed.

"Origald, what…?" Then she spotted the three hobbits on the ground and sighed. "Been making friends have we? What have you done to them this time?" Without waiting for an answer, she strode over to Pippin and knelt down beside him. Merry and Sam didn't raise any objections as she examined him, and watched with interest as she took some type of plant out of a pouch hanging around her waist. Rubbing it between her hands until it was fine powder, the elf sprinkled it over Pippin's face then laid her hand on his forehead, apparently concentrating hard.

Gradually Pippin stopped coughing and gasping then slowly opened his eyes. When he saw the beautiful elf leaning over him, he had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But to his disappointment, she backed away instead of coming closer, and he was being helped to sit up Sam and Merry. "Are you alright?" They asked anxiously.

"Er, I guess so. What happened?" Sam proceeded to tell him the story in brief, while Merry turned back to the elf. Throughout the whole healing process, he had found himself more interested in her than what she was doing. Looking now, he saw that she appeared much younger then what she had first seemed but no less beautiful. She had deep gold hair that was emphasized by her tanned skin, a lean figure that was shorter then most elves he had met, and somehow not as fully developed. But her eyes captivated him the most. Deep aqua in colour, it was like staring into two identical oceans full of feeling and wonder. He couldn't stop staring at her.

The elf turned around and looked at Merry. "I see you are also hurt. Show me your ankle." She commanded. Merry obliged. "Hmmm, looks like a sprain. This won't take long." She took the waterbag that was at her waist and sprinkled some water over his ankle. Immediately the pain went.

Merry stared at her in wonder. "You're a remarkable healer. Where did you learn all that?"

The elf smiled. "My people are healers. It was been our greatest skill for thousands of years."

"And who are your people?" Sam asked. He had finished explaining everything to Pippin and had stood up to talk to the elf.

She looked at him, smiled and stood up as well. "I am Princess Turaiaqualis Falma of Coralie. My people are a race of elves that most of Middle earth has forgotten. We live south of Gondor on the island of Coralie and don't interact much with the rest of the world. We have spent pretty much the last 20,000 or so years practicing healing and such."

"Er, I'm Samwise Gamgee, from the Shire. This is..."

"Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took at your service, Your Highness." He said with a small bow. Merry and Sam stared at him.

Turaiaqualis blanched. "Please don't call me that. Just Turaia's fine." Then she smiled. "You certinly know how to talk to royalty well, Master Took, for one born in the Shire. Where did you learn?"

"I served in Gondor as a guard a few years ago, during the war of the ring," he said, and procceded to tell the young princess all about Frodo and the ring, a subject which she seemed to find most interesting.

Sam and Merry were gaping with their mouths wide open. Pippin, non-important Pippin of the Shire, was chatting up an elf as confident and easily as though he had been doing it for years, which they knew he had most certainly had _not _been doing. Had he?

"Good, isn't she?" a voice said behind them. They both jumped. Origald had completely left their minds in the presence of Turaia and he was now looking down at them amusedly. "Princess Turaia is rather well known for her flightiness, but then, most elves her age often are. She is, after all, only 321 years old."

"Only?" Merry said weakly, his heart sinking slightly. He mentally shook himself. As Origald had said, Turaia was probably used to people taking a lot of interest in her. She probably wasn't actually interested in Pippin at all, just in his story and definitely wouldn't be interested in him.

"Anyway," Origald said, bringing him out of these cheerful thoughts. "What are three hobbits doing wandering around in this part of the country anyway?"

Sam and Merry exchanged glances. "Well, we aren't really sure. You see, the sickness that Pippin had before Turaia healed him, it's all over the Shire. Hundreds of hobbits are dying every week. No cure can be found in the Shire so we set out hoping that we could find one somewhere else." Sam explained.

Origald looked thoughtful for a moment. "I see. Well the young princess and I are staying in Rivendell at the moment. We came north because of...ah..."

"We havn't been to Rivendell yet, Origald, remember?" Turaia had broken off her conversation with Pippin and just caught the thread of theirs. She looked at them and winked. "We are still on our way there."

Sam looked confused. "But if you live south of Gondor, shouldn't you be there by now?"

Turaia and Origald exchanged glances. "Well, we would be there, had we gone that way. But due to the massive war Gondor's having at the moment, we had to skirt around on another road. It's longer but safer. I mean, I can fight," she added hurriedly. "But neither of us can actually take on an army of orcs that big by ourselves."

Sam listened gravely, then turned to Merry and Pippin. "So there is a war on."

Merry and Pippin both looked thunderstruck by this news. "It wasn't in the letter, I swear!" Merry said.

Sam sighed. "Well, I suppose that rules out Gondor as our list of healing options." Then he brightened. "But we don't need to search anymore! We've already found a healer!"

He turned to Turaia. My lady, would you be able to tell us exactly how you healed Pippin? Or maybe even come back to the Shire with us and..."

But the elf was shaking her head sadly. "Look, I'm realy sorry, but even if I could come to the Shire with you, I'm afraid I would be of no use. I used the last plant for that sickness on your friend here. There are no more."

Sam was crestfallen. "No more? None at all?" He was close to tears again and Turaia's continuous head shaking stopped. "Weeeeell," she said cautiously. "There is more, but it's kind of inaccessable."

"Where is it? Tell me!" Sam demended desperatly.

Turaia hesitated. "It's on an island near Coralie. The island is deserted, because it is inhabited by a monster. The Krovic. None have ever been able to defeat it."

Although her words sent shivers down Sam's spine, he wasn't to be put off. "You don't understand. My daughter has this sickness. She's going to die if we don't do something." By now his eyes were bright with unshed tears, but he was oblivious to them.

Turaia was obviously moved by his determination. After exchanging one more glance with her wizard escort, she smiled at Sam. "Well, I'll see what I can do. The elders of Coralie aren't especially partial to strangers. And the Krovic definitely isn't. But how about you accompany us to Rivendell and we'll talk about it there."

Sam sighed. "Alright. Thankyou, my lady. Is that all right with you two?" he asked, turning to his two companions. Merry and Pippin nodded their heads vigorously, obviously not having any objections to travelling with the elven princess.

"Right, well now that's settled, I'm ready to go back to bed," Turaia said, stiffling a yawn. "Our camp is only... how far Origald?"

"Only about half a mile away. You see, I have the power to transport myself and others short distances once in a while, but it is tiring. Meaning-" he turned to the now very indignant princess. "- I won't be up to transporting you back. My apologies, but we'll have to walk."

"And so you should be!" Turaia said, clearly irritated that her escort had transported her half a mile away from her bed in the middle of the night and was making her walk back. "Stupid wizard, interrupting a princess's beauty sleep..." she mumbled, starting to walk away in a general south-western direction.

"Wrong way, princess," Origald called out after her. She threw him a poisonous look and tossed her golden tresses back to them as she changed direction.

Origald smiled and started after her. The hobbits followed suit. Sam was feeling especially happy as they marched through the dark forest, the only light being the silvery whiteness of the moon as it stuggled through the leafy ceiling above. At last they knew what to do about the fatal situation in which thay were plunged into. Sam strengthened his resolve to get this special plant to help his kin - or die trying.

**O.K, by 4 now, and remember, REVIEW! er, please?**


End file.
